ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Climate-Smart Food Systems
Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1651027
This article is part of the Research TopicBuilding Resilience Through Sustainability: Innovative Strategies In Agricultural SystemsView all 21 articles
Towards sustainable biointelligent food design: structuring potential of plant-based materials exemplified using apricot seed oil oleogels and bigels through 3D food printing
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Hohenheim, Institute of Crop Science, Bioeconomy Office Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
- 2University of Hohenheim, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Department of Plant-based Foods, Stuttgart, Germany
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This study explores the sustainable valorization of apricot seed oils by incorporating them as functional fat phases in food matrices using advanced biointelligent 3D food printing technology, addressing the need for innovative, resource-efficient food production. Apricot seed oil, notable for its antioxidants and high polyunsaturated fatty acid content, was processed into plant-based oleogels and bigels, a healthy alternative to saturated fats, and then integrated into 3D printed food products. Material characterization and techno-functional analysis revealed that apricot seed oil is highly suitable for structuring oleogels and bigels using 3D printing in complex food structures, enabling the precise control over food texture—a critical factor for consumer acceptance and product differentiation. By modulating oil-gelator type and concentration, texture properties and lipid-phase distribution can be tailored to consumer preferences. The approach evaluates sustainability impacts at intermediate processing stages, highlighting the importance of holistic assessments beyond techno-functional factors. Biointelligent 3D food printing serves as a platform for optimizing the sensory and sustainable qualities of food products, providing technical evidence for the integration of apricot seed oils into novel food matrices. This work offers valuable insights for researchers, food technologists, and industry stakeholders by establishing a versatile platform for consumer-centric nutritional product development and innovation in sustainable food design, ultimately advancing sustainable production and consumption practices.
Keywords: food sustainability, bioeconomy, circularity, Biointelligence, 3D food printing, Oleogels, Bigels
Received: 20 Jun 2025; Accepted: 22 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Reinmuth, Fahmy, Ribette and Jekle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mario Jekle, mario.jekle@uni-hohenheim.de
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